Home for wild life



July 13, 1943. s. M. VANBUSSUM HOME FOR WILD LIFE:

Filed Feb. 20, 194-3 Patented July 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOME FOR WILD LIFE Sheen Mayor Vanbussum, Henderson, Ky. Application February 20, 1943, Serial No. 476,521

' cavated in said walls or may be formed" of any 1 Claim.

This invention relates to shelters, lairs or dens for wild life and is particularly directed to a method of constructing a suitable den for use by many different fur-bearing animals.

In recent years civilization has so encroached upon the domain of wild life that much wild life is rapidly becoming extinct, principally because suitable shelter cannot be found in which to bear and raise its young.

Especially is this true in regard to many furbearing animals, the majority of which never prepare a den for their own use but either appropriate the dens of other animals or depend upon nature to provide a suitable habitat for their use in whelping and rearing their young.

The construction of suitable dens in proper locations such as state parks or forest preserves, along hillsides or stream banks, appears to be the logical solution to this important problem and it is the main object of this invention to provide a novel method of constructing such suitable dens.

With this and incidental objects in view, the invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in appended claim and a preferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a den constructed according to the method described hereinafter.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the den shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the den shown in Fig. 1.

Description Referring to the figures of the drawing, the proposed method of constructing a lair or den for wild life comprises the digging of a rectangular working excavation 5 in the inclining or sloping surface of a hill, a mound or the bank of a stream or any other suitable location. Next a cave-like chamber 6 is excavated in either sidewall of the working excavation, one wall 1 of said chamber 6 preferably coinciding with the back wall 8 of the working excavation 5 and the bottom or floor 9 of said chamber being preferably on a plane with the bottom I!) of said working excavation.

The walls 1 and 8 are then connected by the substantially round openings of a U-shaped tunnel or turn-around ll which may simply be exsuitable material such as tile, concrete or metal and placed in a suitable excavation in said walls. The bottom of the turn-around may coincide with or may be slightly below the bottom surfaces 9 and [0 of the chamber 6 and the working excavation 5, to provide drainage, if necessary.

An extension tunnel l2, formed of any suitable material such as tile, concrete, metal or wood and which may be substantially cylindrical in shape, extends from the opening of the turnaround H, in the back wall 8, along the bottom surface IU of the working excavation 5 to a point flush with or slightly beyond the contour of the sloping surface of the surrounding terrain, to form an entrance and passageway I3 to the chamber 6.

After the extension l2 has been properly placed, a cover I4, made of any suitable material, is placed over the opening between the working excavation 5 and the chamber or den 6 and said working excavation is then filled in with the earth removed therefrom, to form a snug and safe underground den or lair for wild life.

If desired, a suitable pipe l5 may be driven: vertically through the overlying terrain into the: chamber 6 to connect said chamber to the out-- side atmosphere for purposes of ventilation- However, this is believed unnecessary and un-- desirable in most cases, as under normal condi-- tions the entrance tunnel l3 provides all the: ventilation necessary.

If the den is properly constructed and placed. in the proper location and at the proper depth,, there will be no danger of the walls caving in; from excessive dampness, or of water accumulating in said den. However, any excessive moisture is free to drain through the entrance tunnel; I3, thus providing further insurance against the. accumulation of water in the den.

It is obvious that the size of the chamber 6 and the entrance tunnel [3 may be varied as desired to accommodate animals of different sizes; and/ or habits, whereby the den of this invention. is adaptable to substantially every type and kind of fur-bearing animal. Naturally the size and location of the chamber 6 determines the size and location of the working excavation 5.

An alternative method of constructing the den is to form the chamber 6 and turn-around ll (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) of concrete or some other suitable material, leaving the bottom of the chamber and the turn-around open, if desired, so that the earth will form the floors thereof and place said chamber and tum-around in a suitable excavation, as outlined above. Likewise, the extension tunnel 12 may be formed in the same manner as suggested above, in sections of inverted U-shaped cross-section so that the bottom surface ID will form the floor thereof.

The turn-around ll excludes excessive light from the chamber 6, gives the occupants privacy and security, and prevents them from being molested by the poking of foreign objects, such as sticks, etc., into their den, all of which are very important if wild life is to survive and multiply under present-day conditions.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form or embodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scope of the claim which follows.

What is claimed is:

The method of producing a den for wild life comprising the steps of making an excavation of substantially rectangular outline in an inclining or sloping portion of the earths surface, such as the bank of a stream, a mound or a hillside, excavating a cave-like chamber in one wall of the first excavation, forming a U-shaped tunnel to connect the back walls of the two excavations, closing the opening between the two excavations with any suitable material, such as wood, brick, stone or concrete to enclose the chamber, extending the U-shaped tunnel through the first excavation and beyond the sloping surface to form an entrance and a passageway to the chamber, and then filling in the first excavation with earth so as to enclose everything except the entrance to the tunnel.

SHEEN M. VANBUSSUM. 

